U.S. News and World Report ranked the W. P. Carey School of Business as No. 29 in its 2009 list of “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” despite concerns that the poor economy would hurt the school’s ranking, a business-school official said.
“We cracked into the top 30 [in the rankings] for the first time last year, and we were very concerned this year because the job market has been down here in Arizona,” said Gerry Keim, associate dean for the W. P. Carey master of business administration program. “We were one of the first states to really go into the recession, and the [job] placement of students is a big part of this ranking.”
Last year, U.S. News and World Report ranked the W.P. Carey School as No. 22 in the nation for best graduate programs.
Keim said the rankings, released April 22, are based on two main components: the quality of students enrolled in the graduate program, based on Graduate Management Admissions Test scores, GPA and work experience, and students’ placement in jobs by graduation and 90 days after. He said the school was not worried about the quality of students; however, job placement was a concern.
“On [job placement] dimensions, we fell this year compared to what we had done last year because the job market started to go down here a year ago,” Keim said. “So we were worried about how that would affect [the rankings], but we were very pleased to be able to stay in the top 30.”
Even with students’ being placed in jobs with salaries about $5,000 less this year compared to last year, the W. P. Carey School of Business ranked No. 15 in terms of job placement after three months, he said.
Additionally, the evening graduate program was ranked No. 24 among part-time programs. Also, three departmental specialties at the W. P. Carey School of Business made the top 30 in their respective rankings. Supply chain/logistics was ranked No. 5, accounting was ranked No. 24, and information systems was ranked No. 25.
Though rankings may focus on specific components of schools, Keim said he believes many factors contribute to having a successful business program, and the W. P. Carey School of Business is a quintessential example. One of those components is the extensive interview process to choose students of the highest capacity, he said.
“There are a lot of smart people out there, but there is a much smaller set of smart people who have the ability to work well with others, have the ability to lead others [and] who have the effective communication skills,” Keim said.
In addition to leadership and communication skills, the W. P. Carey School includes ethics questions in the interview process, which Keim said is an important aspect of choosing qualified students.
Another aspect that sets the school apart is the size of classes, Keim said, as many other graduate programs ranked have larger classes. In the school’s MBA program, classes are usually capped at around 50 students, while some other programs have around 80 students in classes, he said.
“These classes in the MBA program are very discussion-oriented, so the difference between being in a discussion with 50 people and being in a discussion with 75 or 80 is very significant, and that smaller class size really helps students learn,” Keim said.
The devoted staff at the career center and dedicated faculty in the program also help to make the W. P. Carey School of Business more than just a school and make students feel part of a community, Keim said.
And that community aspect is what drew graduate student Derek Dalmolin to the MBA program at ASU.
“I truly love being here. The administration, the faculty, fellow students — everybody here is really focused on your personal success,” said Dalmolin, a first-year supply chain, finance and health-sector management student, said. “And the sense of community and family is overwhelming. You know that you can trust the people that you’re with, and it’s a very welcoming environment.”
It is a combination of the faculty, fellow students and classes that makes the W. P. Carey MBA program stand out, he said.
“It’s the whole package here,” Dalmolin said. “That sense of community is really an important aspect of it because you’re able to be yourself and know that people are going to support you.”
Reach the reporter at abigail.gilmore@asu.edu.
